ASEAN gets new angel investment group to improve cross-border trades

SEVEN angel investment groups from all other the ASEAN region have joined hands to form the ASEAN Angel Alliance (AAA), in an effort to improve the investment landscape.

According to VietStock, the seven groups taking part in the new alliance include Vietnam’s HATCH! Ventures, the Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN), the Cambodia Investor’s Corporation, Myanmar’s Yangon Angels, the Bangkok Venture Club, Singapore’s Business Angel Network (SEA), Indonesia’s Angel Investment Network, and and the Philippines’ 1000 Angels.

Each participating group has its own individual funds and investors, rather than pooling one fund between them. Between the seven groups, there are an estimated 1,000 investors throughout the region.

MBAN president Dr. V. Sivapalan was quoted saying: “‘In the past, collaboration between angels was conducted through through informal and often proprietary bilateral networks. AAA’s presence in the ASEAN angel ecosystem will open up a network to a wider community of angels and champion angel investment across the region.”

In ASEAN’s growing startup ecosystem, the most difficult part about getting an enterprise off the ground is funding, so the AAA could prove to be very useful to budding startups. Encouraging cross-border investments will also open up opportunities for the startups to access other networks and knowledge.